Recession proofing your pet. 

             Like all veterinarians, and now more than ever, I face the daily challenge of balancing a patient’s health care needs with their owner’s checkbook.   Many people ask how they can reduce their pet’s health care costs.   Actually it’s no secret,  a penny of prevention is worth a buck of cure.   Preventative care won’t just save you money.   It may save your pet from painful or even life threatening problems.   Here are 5 tips to help keep the green in your pocket:

1)  Feed high quality food and provide plenty of exercise to maintain ideal weight.   Approximately half of my patients health problems can be attributed to improper diet or obesity.  Ear infections, skin diseases, arthritis, and vomiting are just a few.  Don’t feed table scraps and avoid too many treats which quickly add up in calories.   I recommend grain free foods for dogs and cats.  100% canned food is best for cats.

2)  Brush your pet’s teeth.   Brushing can be done!  Search YouTube for a plethora of video proof that may inspire you. Your pets teeth are almost identical to yours.   What would your teeth look like if you didn’t brush them for 5 years?   Dental disease not only causes your furry friend’s breath to offend your guests,  it can take a toll on their internal organs.   Untreated dental disease will lead to the need for costly extractions.  Brushing won’t help, and may hurt, if your pet already has advanced dental disease so check with your veterinarian before beginning a home care program.   The website http://www.vohc.org/  is a reliable reference for proven home care products to augment brushing.  Here are two videos that demonstrate brushing a dog’s and a cat’s teeth:

DOG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsNlLLSBWLU

CAT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ok_9RaRCmg

3) Buy health insurance for your pet.   Consider the likely possibility that your pet will get sick or injured in their lifetime.   How you would pay their care?    Pet owners and veterinarians are often faced with extremely difficult decisions when financial resources aren’t sufficient to provide ideal care for our four legged family members.  Insurance can often make the difference between healing and heartache in these circumstances.  Many pet insurance companies offer a variety of plans.  Illness and injury coverage is essential but you can also purchase plans that cover wellness care.    Read the fine print closely regarding what is and what is not covered  (ie many exclude coverage for problems associated with specific breeds) and whether or not there is a waiting period before coverage starts.

4)  Use regular flea control.     Many of my patients develop serious skin disease as a result of flea allergies.   Don’t let the thought of giving regular flea medications deter you.  There are wonderful new products that are less toxic and easier to administer than ever.    Avoid purchasing from internet pharmacies which are often tainted with counterfeit products.  Most veterinary hospitals have online stores which will be set to meet or beat internet pharmacies prices with the same quality assurance of in clinic products.

5)  Watch for and ask about specials on common products and routine services.   Some typical discounted items are vaccines,  flea control,  dental care (February is National Pet Dental Health Month),  and kitten/puppy packages.  Don’t forget to ask about senior, military, disabled, service dog, and rescue discounts if these criteria apply to you or your pet.

Honestly,  I shouldn’t be sharing these tips with you.  If everyone followed them I’d have a lot less work to do.  I like to think I’m doing the best I can for as many animals and clients as possible though so I’m willing to take a chance.  Here’s to your pets health!

River May, DVM

Capvet1@gmail.com

• We have recently installed top-of-the-line digital x-ray processing units for dental and full-body x-rays, meaning a huge reduction in chemical usage and hazardous material waste.  Digital x-rays require significantly lower radiation to produce which provides additional safety for our patients and staff.  Not to mention the obvious tremendous increase in quality with digital images compared to x-ray film.
• We now receive all faxes digitally. To give an idea of how much paper this saves, we are pleased to report that we have not loaded any paper in the fax machine for the last four months!
• All of the outside lab work results are now being received digitally, just like our faxes. Also, we have brand new state-of-the-art in-house laboratory equipment that posts results directly into computerized patient records without ever having to be printed on paper.
• We now type our patient records in our computer software. This not only saves paper but allows us to provide better service to our clients and patients because these records can be easily shared between specialty hospitals and are available to more than one staff member at a time. No more ever expanding charts to keep track of or deciphering handwritten entries!
• All clients now have the option of having their invoices emailed to them rather than having them printed.
• We have eliminated the vast majority of brochures and “handouts” when communicating with our clients.  Instead, we have developed an extensive library of digital client education documents that we can email to clients.
• We have added more recycling stations around the hospital and we strive to reuse as much paper as we can by printing on both sides before sending it out for recycling.
• We have completely re-structured our in-hospital communication system. We no longer use paper to communicate with each other, but rather a collection of re-usable laminated cards and wet-erase pens. What this boils down to is a significant reduction in paper waste, which we are all very proud of!
• Water saving features have been installed on hospital sinks, our toilet is low flush volume and we use only organic and biodegradable soaps throughout the hospital for regular hand washing wherever possible. This means that we are using less water in general and that our waste-water is less harmful to the environment.

See all of December’s photos at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capitola-Veterinary-Hospital/116844405019806?sk=photos#!/media/set/?set=a.291801520857426.60078.116844405019806&type=3

Follow the link below to see all the November contest entries:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.276027142434864.57906.116844405019806&type=3

Follow the link below to see October’s other contest entries:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.262584377112474.55409.116844405019806&type=3

Follow the link below to see the other September photo contest entries.

http://http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.250159701688275.52455.116844405019806

Follow the link below to see the other August entries:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.236346816402897.50204.116844405019806

 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.222263677811211.48241.116844405019806

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=213885831982329&set=a.213885788649000.47090.116844405019806&type=1&theater